Elven Council Precon: Decklist, Value, and Verdict

Galadriel, Elven-Queen

Will of the council — At the beginning of combat on your turn, if another Elf entered the battlefield under your control this turn, starting with you, each player votes for dominion or guidance. If dominion gets more votes, the Ring tempts you, then you put a +1/+1 counter on your Ring-bearer. If guidance gets more votes or the vote is tied, draw a card.

Singles value

$106.70

TCGplayer market, 74 cards, basic lands counted at $0

Sealed price

$64.22

TCGplayer price for the box (Amazon $114.99) · singles are 1.7× that

New cards

20 / 100

First printings in this deck

Bracket

Core, out of the box

Is Elven Council worth buying?

from Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Commander Decks: Are They Worth It? by Ignacio (Iñaki)

Elf typal is always a super safe bet for a deck. Even if you feel like the precon may be a bit lacking or you want to play it differently, it’s easy and straightforward to upgrade. I think the political aspect of it is also pretty fun and nicely developed.

I like that the deck lets you play around with its many options for LOTR commanders. They’re also really good to build around if you wanna take them out of your deck (especially Gandalf and Radagast).

In terms of value, I think Elven Council does pretty alright. I doubt Círdan the Shipwright will keep such a high price for long, but I’d bet it’ll still hold some value. Heroic Intervention and Swan Song are amazing cards to have in a precon.

Lore-wise I think the deck is fine. Having Galadriel as the commander makes perfect sense, and the fact that there are so many lieutenants also feels flavorful because it plays into a “large council” idea that fits Tolkien’s elves really well. My only nitpick is Colossal Whale because it really doesn’t make sense in terms of lore. I’m even willing to let Hornet Queen slide because that one at least can be justified with “elves live in the woods and have bonds to their inhabitants.” Why is a whale here?

How Elven Council plays

primer from Elven Council Upgrade Guide: 10 Easy Changes You Can Make by Timothy Zaccagnino

At the forefront of Elven Council is Galadriel, Elven-Queen. The ability on this card neatly ties both themes of the deck together by having a will of the council ability that triggers if an elf entered your battlefield that turn.

I don’t really think this card is that strong overall. The ability isn’t bad, and it’s definitely very lore-friendly considering Galadriel’s internal conflict regarding the Fellowship, but I think it can be a little unfocused. The extra card draw can definitely be useful, especially considering this ability triggers more often than not, but I think the dominion option is a bit lacking. This is the only card in the deck that has anything to do with the Ring tempting you, and your opponents may simply vote against it if it’d really benefit you.

There are several cards that can occupy the place as lieutenants in this deck. First is the one I’d actually play as the commander, which is Erestor of the Council. This is one of the few cards in the deck that have some kind of payoff for voting, so I’d rather have it in my command zone where I can cast it at any time rather than lost somewhere among my 99. It brings a bunch of value for you every time players vote, which may not be all that often but should be often enough to make it worth it.

The following two options are Círdan the Shipwright and Elrond of the White Council. They both have secret council abilities that can be fun for political gameplay. Elrond of the White Council in particular can be super fun to play at the right time.